Gaza War Crimes Debate To Reopen At UN Security Council

GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council will reopen the debate about alleged war crimes in Gaza later this week after Palestinians succeeded in gathering enough support to call a special meeting, officials said Tuesday.

The debate will start Thursday, a day after the U.N. Security Council in New York discusses the Goldstone report, which accuses Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during their Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war.

Israel has rejected the report, claiming the investigators led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone were biased against the Jewish state and misled by Palestinian propaganda.

U.N. officials say 18 of the council's 47 members signed a motion calling for the debate. The backers are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Senegal.

Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, said the two-day debate would examine the report as well as recent incidents of violence in Jerusalem.

It will be the sixth time that Israel has been the subject of a special session by the Geneva-based council. Each previous session has resulted in a resolution critical of Israel.

"We'll wait to take a stance on the debate itself once it begins," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "We still think that this report is very dangerous and is disconnected from reality. This report was based almost exclusively on Hamas propaganda."

The 575-page report was based on about 180 interviews and 10,000 pages of documents. It accused Israel of applying disproportionate force, targeting civilians, destroying civilian infrastructure and using human shields in its offensive to stop militant rocket fire.

The report also criticized Gaza militants including Hamas for targeting civilians and trying to spread terror through rocket attacks.

Thirteen Israelis and almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the conflict.

The decision to call for a special meeting of the council marks a turnaround for the Palestinians. Under heavy U.S. pressure, Palestinian diplomats two weeks ago had asked for debate on the report to be delayed until March, resulting in protests at home.

Despite angry Israeli reaction and U.S. criticism, the Goldstone report has been widely praised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and supported by countries in Europe and elsewhere.

The U.N. Security Council should require both Israeli and Palestinian authorities to prove they are carrying out independent, impartial investigations into the alleged war crimes, the report recommends. If they fail to do so within six months, the U.N. should refer the matter to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, it suggests.

Comments

[NeoconGal]

As usual, Israel has nothing to worry about. When we have used our veto power again, they can go back to destroying whats left of Gaza.

[messy - Huffpost Blogger]

international law states that Israel must be condemned for everything it does, no matter what.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-lurio/unsc-res-250-the-internat_b_155461.html

[vascopyjama]

Why call it a debate when you know very well it will be a complete whitewash? And to prove that we are honest power brokers we will use our veto power if we have to.

[StCuthbert]

If it's the UN, the ending is already written.

[Wisdo]

If the UN is wrong about everything maybe the state of Israel should be dismantled - it being a UN creation in the first place.

[TheLonelyGod]

Who said the UN is wrong "about everything"? He just said that the UN already has it's mind made up before they hear any actual evidence. Nice strawman.

[Paulo1]

Shhhhh don't tell Obama. He is for "moving on" when it comes to war crimes.

[SpoonieLuv]

How can the Muslim world believe that the United States respects human rights when our UN representatives veil Israeli atrocities with their veto power?

[alexa07]

How can the world sit & listen with a straight face when they hear our officials castigating the Iranians because they might be able to build nukes & then attack their neighbors when Israel not only has an arsenal of nukes but has attacked its neighbors? The Obama team is repeating the same old argumentation, but it is appearing even more ridiculous because of Israel's recent behavior in Gaza.

[jordanispalestine]

As a report carried by HP called the relationship between Hamas and Fatah..."TOXIC"...From which group is the man behind the plackard "PALESTINE" from?? I refer to the photo on the World home page. Whicg group does he represent?? Does he realize that the Palestinians have ALSO been cited for war crimes in the Goldstone report

[baffy]

Could be that killing 1400 (mainly civilians) versus 10 (mainly soldiers) makes Israel's war crime bigger than Hamas's?

[lightningbolt]

I hope the U.N. comes to its senses and realizes that the war criminals in this war were Hamas members. They started the war by launching thousands of rockets from heavily populated areas into Israel with the intent of killing civilians, violating several international laws. Israel has the right to defend itself against such attacks.

[Wisdo]

Right , like "they started it" is an excuse for war crimes.

Also - have you ever wondered WHY "they" were launching rockets in the first place?
Nothing wrong with laying siege to a whole city in your book? How are things in the middle ages?

[TheLonelyGod]

It's not just that Hamas fired the first shot. They committed many different war crimes, most of which led directly to the hundreds of civilian casualties incurred during the war.

PS: Gaza isn't a city.

[StCuthbert]

It's always fascinating that people use the blockade as an excuse for the rocket attacks, where a simple Wikipedia search makes it abundantly clear the rockets started flying *years* before the blockade.

[lightningbolt]

Hamas has also committed many crimes against the population of Gaza. They are unfit to govern.

[Wisdo]

TIme to fire up that automatic veto machine, Obama.

A veto a day keeps UN at bay! Plus think of all the lovely settlements that can be built while this is debated and then autovetoed.

[Thabit]

not only are Palestinians not going away their population is increasing while some leave Israel and others never come to stay and still others die off . If forced into a one state plan the government of Israel and the prime minister would be from Hamas within 20 years rofl

[duxguts]

Pity the Palestinians don't have a seat on the UN Security Council. That way they could see the dirty backhanded deals as they happen. But hang on a minute, If forgot, you need to have nuclear weapons to get on the Security Council.

[vascopyjama]

Don't worry, Susan Rice has her pen ready.

[alexa07]

What a disappointment the Obama team has become.

[Macready]

she is such a status quo zero person . . .

Obama must tell her to not veto the Goldstone Report . . it must be acted upon . . . and now . . . a 6 month delay is too late . .

[jordanispalestine]

Yeah..we've got to bring the Hamas members accused of war crimes in the Goldstone report to trial ASAP!! I agree!!!

[jordanispalestine]

Just like John Bolton had for a few years!!

[alexa07]

Here we go again. First, AP article paragraph # 3 is inserting Israel's reaction (as usual) before the reader even has a chance to understand fully the context of the article & is already associating the word "propaganda" with the Palestinians, even though it is in a quotation. Here it is:
"Israel has rejected the report, claiming the investigators led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone were biased against the Jewish state and misled by Palestinian propaganda."

Second, Even though there is a list of 18 countries who voted with the Palestinians, no quotes appear about them, only a rather generic paraphrase with no meat on its bones: "Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, said the two-day debate would examine the report as well as recent incidents of violence in Jerusalem."

Third, a reiteration of past events, but again, no flesh on its bones: "It will be the sixth time that Israel has been the subject of a special session by the Geneva-based council. Each previous session has resulted in a resolution critical of Israel." No specifics.

Fourth, a full-blown quotation by guess which side? "We'll wait to take a stance on the debate itself once it begins," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "We still think that this report is very dangerous and is disconnected from reality. This report was based almost exclusively on Hamas propaganda."

[alysheba 3]

Doesn't really leave any doubt about whose side the media is on, does it?

Thank Goodness for the internet which gives us access to the Goldstone Report ourselves. And gives us access to the many reports about the Human Rights violations of Israel with regards to their treatment of Palestinians.

[jordanispalestine]

Sorry...the media...excluding HP, is not on the terrorists' side!!! Bad try! No cigar for you!!

[max08]

You're dead right, Alexa07. At the very least, these badly composed AP and other reports are teaching the untaught how journalistic propaganda is written.

I'm one of the rare ones: I read the 575-page report. I defy anyone to read it and reach the conclusions that the Israelis gave above. Even more, I watched what Israel did to Gaza. No. Thinking. Feeling. Person. In. The. Western. Hemisphere. Could. Possibly. Condone. The. Israeli. Massacre.

[jordanispalestine]

Not even the hamas terrorists who used civilians as human shields???

[alexa07]

Yes, our journalists have turned into propagandists, whose stripes can be detected in just about any article or news broadcast about the region. It is still unbelievable to me what little was reported about the Gaza atrocities; instead most of what I heard were craven justifications for the IDF. I was able to get my news from the international networks via satellite & my computer. This was a sea change for me as I remember previous conflicts in the past where we were trying always to guess what was really happening vs. what was being reported. All I can say is that while the news reporting in the USA has sunk to even lower levels than it has been, the open avenues around this bad news are tremendously easy to navigate. The bloggers in Gaza; the Palestinian families with their cell phones, Ramattan, AJE, Euro News, Amy Goodman, Laura Flanders et al have made a HUGE difference. The loyalists for the IDF are having a much more difficult time these days. The Goldstone Report is another golden nail in their coffin because it verifies so much of what was being reported by the international & alternative media.

[max08]

So true, alexa07.

[StCuthbert]

Now why don't you read the Israeli response in detail, so you can have a "balanced viewpoint"

www.goldstonereport.org

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Israel_analysis_comments_Goldstone_Mission_15-Sep-2009.htm

[red897]

oh wow, you read a biased report requested by the palestinian and their Areb counterparts. Yes, that makes you very informed.

[alysheba 3]

Unfortunately the US will continue to Veto any action against Israel, while condemning Palestinians for attempting to defend their homes from military attack. However the US will still declare itself to be an impartial mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

[alexa07]

Thank you for your comments, alysheba!

[jordanispalestine]

Why not bring in Syria and Iran as impartial mediators??? At least YOU would find them impartial!!

[foxfury]

OK, jordan, I'm having a bit of confusion understanding you. You seem to defend israel at every opportunity but your username is jordanispalestine. I'm not judging, but could you unpack the logic of your chosen username?

[alysheba 3]

Bring in Sweden, Switzerland.........There are many countries who are actually impartial. Or are you claiming that the only anti-Semitic countries in the world are the US and Israel?

And the "YOU" is uncalled for. There is nothing wrong with asking for an investigation if Israel has nothing to hide.

[baffy]

Just like Israel finds a Jewish, pro-Israel, South African lawyer impartial?

[TheLonelyGod]

"condemning Palestinians for attempting to defend their homes from military attack"

And how many Palestinian homes were destroyed in Gaza by unprovoked military attacks?

[alysheba 3]

Any destroyed in Cast Lead. I know 7 ex-IDF soldiers (married to one of them) who can tell of orders to shoot civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure (please note that none served during Cast Lead, the most recent Israeli emigrant left Israel in 2007). This is why these ex-soldiers left Israel after their service.

[MarcusT]

I'll assume you are going to the 15,000,000 pot hole makers-er, rockets?

[Thabit]

umm the answer to that is all of the palestinian homes that were destroyed were unprovoked untill the assault began there had been less than 20 rockets fired in 6 months prior to November the 4th and less than 10 in the 2 months prior. I think the main Provocation was it was Novembeer 4th and Barak Hussein Obama was elected as president instead of John McCainand they had to see to it that palestinians would stay mad for 4 more years

[lightningbolt]

Hamas was the aggressor in this war. Hamas started the war by launching thousands of rockets from heavily populated areas into Israel with the intent of killing civilians, violating several international laws. Hamas is responsible for ALL war crimes committed during the conflict, since they started it.

[StCuthbert]

Boom! Well said.

[baffy]

Nonsense. Even Hasbara will be ashamed of your post.

[Wisdo]

And no mention of the 14,000 artillery shells fired by Israel into gaza?

[ultra08]

People are dying everywhere and UN is just creating more reports and reviews. What good is the review if it cannot resolve anything in the World community. Meeting will hold Israel responsible for war crimes and US will veto the report; then what? Back to square one with more reports. Everyone will shake their heads in disappointment and then "Lets Talk About Iran Sanctions or......."

[duxguts]

For a minute there I thought there was going to be a debate and then I saw UN.